Trump Picks Lutnick as Commerce Secretary Amid Crypto Advocacy

Reports surfaced on November 19th stating that United States President-elect Donald Trump has selected Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald

United States President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, to serve as his Secretary of Commerce, reports Cointelegraph on November 19. Lutnick has been an advocate for Bitcoin for some time now.

The Secretary of Commerce is tasked with promoting American trade, both domestically and internationally. As one of the president’s closest advisers, the secretary is a member of the United States Cabinet. Lutnick, who is now serving as co-lead of the Trump transition team, was widely expected to be tapped for a Cabinet-level role in the administration.

Lutnick has also drawn attention within the crypto community for his statements on Bitcoin and his firm’s ties to stablecoin issuer Tether.

Crypto ties and Tether’s role

Since 2021 and 2023, respectively, Tether’s U.S. Treasury and bond portfolios have been handled by Cantor Fitzgerald, the Wall Street financial services firm that Lutnick has presided over since 1996. Despite calls for a financial audit, Tether — which has a market capitalization of $129 billion — has continued to face scrutiny over its accounting practices.

On several occasions, Lutnick has voiced his support for Tether, which he claims to be financially sound. He is also known to be a “big fan” of Bitcoin but may have an interesting take on the cryptocurrency. Despite the fact that spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer “a way for Americans to buy” Bitcoin, he stated in January that the primary cryptocurrency “isn’t an American thing.”

Lutnick appeared to be more bullish on Bitcoin at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July.

“Cantor Fitzgerald is here to announce that we are launching a Bitcoin financing business […] We are going to launch with $2 billion of lending.”

Regulator challenges and Lutnick’s appointment

As of yet, nothing is known about this venture. Trump also made an appearance at the conference.

In an interview with Fox News in September, Lutnick stated that Bitcoin is a commodity. Regarding U.S. regulators, he had this to say:

“Let’s face it: they don’t even know how to do crypto and digital at all, and they have no idea; they still don’t understand how important it is to get it right.”

Lutnick will be succeeding Gina Raimondo, the former governor of Rhode Island, in this role.